The way the Federal Government has been handling the ongoing strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) seems a good barometer for measuring the way important national issues are handled. The strike has been on since last July 1 in protest against FG’s refusal to honour a 2009 agreement it freely entered into with the union on the funding of universities as well as a January 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
It may be quickly stated here that the government has shown bad faith in this matter. The first flaw is that the FG, despite pretences of trying to settle the issues at stake, repudiated the 2009 agreement. What this simply means is that the government cannot be trusted.
The 2009 agreement plus the assessment conducted by FG’s Committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities, are all designed to address the parlous state of tertiary education in the country.
The FG is aware of the amount of fund needed. This amount is meant to be reflected in its yearly budgetary allocations. Nigerians should be made to know that the government is aware that N1.3 trillion is required to rescue the nation’s education system from the abyss over time. In the course of ASUU’s interaction with the government, it was collectively agreed that N100 billion be spent in the first year; while N400 billion would be spent on each of the consecutive three years. The amount is expected to come from budgetary and non-budgetary sources.
The budgetary allocation to education is a paltry 8.43 percent, whereas Ghana devotes 31 percent of its annual budget to education, Cote D’Ivoire 30 percent, Uganda 27 percent, Botswana 19 percent and Lesotho 17 percent, among others.
Globally, the United Nation’s prescription is that at least 26 percent of annual budgets of member nations be devoted to salvaging education. It does appear therefore, that the Nigerian government ever intended to address the rot dogging public educational institutions in the country.
This appears the possible explanation for its position that there are no funds to meet its obligation to the education sector, which is the cause ASUU is championing. The interventionist Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), meant to assist the education sector come back to life, is now a major source the government is eyeing in order to address ASUU’s grievances.
The supposed beneficiaries of TETFUND will most probably bear the brunt of the depletion. Those studying overseas with fund from TETFUND will now become an embarrassment to the nation as there are chances of their becoming stranded. It has been argued that the government has other sectors to cater for. This is true.
But the demand for the fulfillment of the ASUU-FG agreement signed since 2009 envisaged that the fund should have been available, while government should simultaneously tackle its other obligations. It should be borne in mind that a better Nigeria, a self-reliant Nigeria with socio-economic development, good health and technological development, hinges on sound and qualitative education.
Nigerians have noted that privately owned banks that were about sinking because of mismanagement and squander mania in 2008 were promptly salvaged with several billions of naira by the FG. The owners of such banks were rewarded for brazen fraud and recklessness. The government doles out money without qualms to Nollywood and sports events without budgetary allocation.
The N100 billion the FG has given to universities for infrastructural development is barely enough to scratch the problem at the surface. Similarly, the N30 billion it doled out for earned allowances – jobs already done since 2009 – will not help in paying all universities staff as N92 billion is required. Most of the Governing Councils of universities will also not be able to raise the money. ASUU seems to be aware that even the money raised is being positioned for grabs by contractors serving the interest of the politicians.
It is thus important to allow recipient universities have access to the released funds directly. The fact that the political elite in Nigeria educate their children and wards abroad should not prevent them from taking cognizance of the fact that frequent strikes leading to delayed re-opening of tertiary institutions are dangerous time-bombs for both the innocent and the guilty. The government should use the same method it adopted in saving mismanaged banks to save the country’s education sector.
